Moultrie wins honor

Arnett Moultrie set the tone for the Mississippi State Bulldogs last week, helping his team to back-to-back victories and a 15-3 overall record. His reward was to be tabbed as the SEC Player of the Week.

The Memphis native averaged 19 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks as the Bulldogs moved into a tie for third place in the SEC with a 2-1 record in the early portion of conference play.

“I just wanted to come out and have an impressive rebounding game,” said Moultrie following his 25 point outing against Alabama. “Last time out I had four rebounds and that almost never happens so I wanted to have a good rebounding game and the rest would take care of itself.”

Moultrie also leads the conference in rebounding averaging 10.9 boards per game and is tied for the league lead with nine double-doubles on the season.

“His engine always ran, and he always rebounded the basketball,” said Mississippi State head coach Rick Stansbury. “But I think his biggest improvement has been on the offensive side of the ball. He works at it every day.”

The Vann Stuedeman Era Begins

Mississippi State softball will embark on their 2012 journey under new head coach, Vann Stuedeman on Tuesday afternoon when they’ll open practice at 2 p.m.

The Lady Bulldogs will hold open practice sessions during their first five days of work wrapping with on Saturday, Jan. 21. The first four practices will be held at 2 p.m. and will conclude with a 10 a.m. workout on Saturday.

“We are the community’s team and want nothing more than to entertain ours fans and get to know them personally,” Stuedeman said in a university release. “This is where we play, live and learn, and I’d like to personally invite everyone in Starkville and all surrounding areas to come out to practice this week, because we are your team and we practice hard to make you proud.”

State will return seven starters and 17 lettermen off a squad that went 24-32 last season.

Mississippi State Climbs the Polls

The Bulldogs defeated both Alabama and Tennessee over the past week and in doing so the program has climbed five positions to No. 15 in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll and three slots in the Associate Press poll to No. 18.

The Bulldogs have now been ranked for eight consecutive weeks with their highest ranking coming in at No. 14.

The Bulldogs are back in action Wednesday with an 8 p.m. CSS tip at Ole Miss. Saturday, they hit the road again at Vanderbilt for a 6 p.m. tilt on ESPN2.